Truck.



PATENTED APR. 9, 1907.

B. B. BOWERS.

TRUCK. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21, 1906.

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BOSE B. BOWERS, OF MACON, GEORGIA.

TRUCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 9, 1907.

Application filed June 21,1906. Serial No. 322,777.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, Bosn B. Bownns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ma con, in the county of Bibb and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trucks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The truck forming the subject-matter of this invention, while adapted for many general purposes, is more particularly intended for use in cotton, spinning, and weaving mills for carrying the product from one machine or part of the mill to another. It is also very useful in factories and stores for transporting goods between different departments. With the trucks commonly employed for such purposes in spinning-mills and elsewhere damage is constantly occasioned by striking of the trucks against exposed portions of machinery and other objects with which the trucks may come in contact, causing breakage and injury to the machinery and mill fixtures, as well as undue wear on the trucks, and frequently splitting, breaking, or injuring the corners of the truck-boxes.

The objects of my invention are to avoid these difficulties and to provide an efficient truck for the class of service above mentioned, to which end my invention resides in a device for protecting the corners of the truckbody and any objects that it may strike and in the general construction of the truck, which is both simple and strong, as well as particularly adapted for the specific uses and purposes for which it is designed.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure l is a perspective view of a truck embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the truck frame. Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the truck-frame. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the truck-box.

I The illustrated truck comprises a wheeled truck-frame, upon which is mounted a strongly-built box or body A for holding the yarn, mill product, or material that is to be transported. The corners of said box are equipped with vertically-disposed rollers B,

offset outwardly or beyond the outer faces of the sides or ends of the box, thereby presenting round revoluble corners,

striking any object will by revolving ward oil or take up the blow, thus preventing injury to the corners of the box, as well as the machine, fixture, or walls with which the box may come in contact in moving the truck about. Said rollers may be of wood, or they may be formed of or coated with some suitable resilient material, such as hard rubber, whereby the protection afforded by the roll ers would of course be enhanced.

For attaching the rollers to the corners of the box any appropriate means may of course be employed; but as a preferred con struction, which is, moreover, claimed as a part of my invention, said rollers are shown mounted in metal corner-pieces or anglebrackets C, in or to which the corners or the end portions of the sides and ends of the box are secured. Said anglebrackets may, in fact, constitute the corner-joints of the box. At their upper and lower ends said cornerpieces or angle-brackets have suitable outwardly-projecting lugs c, in which the spindles or axles of the rollers are secured, said spindles in the present case consisting of long bolts or rods loosely extending axially through the rollers B.

The truck-frame D, upon which the box A is mounted, is made smaller than the bottom of the box and is completely covered thereby, so that in case of moving the truck against any wall, machine, or other object the rollers B of the truck-body would first strike such object and prevent the truck-frame from engaging and breaking or marring the same. Said truck-frame D is, moreover, made relatively wider at the center and more narrow toward the ends, the truckframe being constructed with its sides convergingly inclined from its middle to its opposite ends, the purpose of which is to afford still greater protection and prevent machinery, objects, or fixtures, which are disposed below the truck-box, from being struck by the truck-frame, more especially where, as in cotton mill and spinning machinery, a portion of the mechanism is placed low down in an exposed condition. The truck-frame is, furthermore, upwardly inclined from its center to its opposite ends, the purpose of which is to raise the box or truck-body to the desired elevation above the floor.

To illustrate more clearly the utility of the which in case of foregoing, reference may be made, for example, to the case of a spinning-machine. At the side of the ordinary spinning-frame is a horizontal rail, known as the step-rail. While most of the operative mechanism of the spinning-frame is located within or behind the step-rail, there are certain projecting parts below the same, particularly the rocker-arms of the travis-rod, said rockerarms lying below and extending slightly outwardly beyond the step-rail. Now in using the present truck it may be moved alongside of the spinning-frame without liability of the truck-frame encountering and damaging the aforesaid rocker-arms or other mechanism exposed near the floor, for the box A overhangs or projects beyond the truck-frame, and hence the rollers B would first strike and ride easily along the step-rail, thereby holding off the truck-frame. This illustrates only one of many instances where the present truck would be of similar ad vantage.

It is apparent, therefore, that by means of the aforesaid revoluble rollers at the corner of the box or truck-body, in connection with V the form and arrangement of the truckframe, as hereinbefore set forth, adequate protection is afforded, not only to the truck, but also to machinery, walls, fixtures, and abutments, more especially ,in cotton, spinning, and weaving mills, where a great deal of the equipment is placed low down in an exposed condition and where with the oldstyle trucks frequent injury was inflicted.

While the foregoing improvements are not I essentially confined to any particular structure, I have devised, however, as a part of my invention an improved construction of the truck-frame, which is not only particularly applicable to the needs and functions of my present invention, but is also of value as a simple, strong, and practicable mechanical construction. As shown, the truck-frame comprises two wing-shaped side bars or members d d, at the centers of which are formed casings d d, inclosing the center supporting wheels or rollers, all of the said supporting wheels or rollers being designated in the drawings by the letter E. At each side of the center wheels the arms of the said members of the truck-frame are inclined convergingly and also upwardly toward the opposite ends of the truck, and at their extremi ties said arms are provided with aperture'd lugs or ears (Z upon which the truckbox A is mounted and detachably bolted or otherwise suitably fastened. At each end of the truck-frame the said inclined arms are joined and braced together by intermediate brackets or spiders d, which are constructed with depending bifurcated'arms or casings d, inclosing the end wheels or supporting-rollers.

The aforesaid supporting wheels or rollers E are preferably four in number and disposed two at the middle and one at each end of the truck and so arranged that the whole contrivance rocks slightly on the center wheels, thus facilitating turning and ready moving about of the truck. The wheels are desirably broad, crown-faced, or slightly convex on their peripheries, thus affording better management of the truck in turning and preventing the wheels from marring and injuring the floor.

The partition a in the truck-box is merely an arbitrary division of the box into different compartments to receive different forms of the product or to separate different classes or varieties of material. There may be one or more such partitions, and the same may be made removable. As'shown, the partition divides the box into compartments of different sizes, in the larger one of which raw material may be placed, and the finished product may be placed in the smaller compartment.

It will be understood that various modifications may be made in the details of construction and arrangement of parts, and the invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms without departing from the scope thereof.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a truck, the combination of a truck box or body provided with freely-revoluble abutments offset outwardly from and arranged to extend substantially the full height of said body for warding off blows from objects with which said body may come in contact.

2. In a truck, a truck box or body having its corners equipped with vertically-disposed rollers offset outwardly beyond the sides and ends of said box, thereby providing round revoluble corners, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In a truck, a truck box or body having metal angle-brackets attached at its corners, said brackets being substantially commensurate in height with the box and having outwardly-projecting lugs at their upper and lower ends, and vertically-disposed revoluble rollers carried by the respective brackets and mounted between the said lugs thereof, said rollers being offset outwardly from the sides and ends of the box, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. A wheel-supported truck box or body having protective rollers mounted at its corners and extending substantially the full height thereof, said rollers being arranged to provide offset rounded corners for said box, for the purpose described.

5. A truck comprising a wheeled or rollersupported carrier and a truck box or body mounted thereon and overhanging or pro- IIS beyond said carrier, and protective said truck-frame, and a truck box or body jecting rollers carried at the corners of said box,the mounted on said truck-frame.

surfaces of said rollers being offset outwardly 8. In a truck, the combination of a truckfrom the outer faces of the sides and ends of frame consisting of side bars mounted on censaid box. e tral supporting-wheels and having their arms 6. A truck comprising a wheel-supported upwardly and convergingly inclined at oppotruck-frame having its sides convergingly insite sides of said wheels, connecting-brackets elined from its center toward its opposite between said arms at each end of said truckends, a box or body mounted thereon and frame, said brackets being mounted upon overlying the sides of said truck-frame, and supporting-wheels, and a truck box or body protective rollers carried at the corners of mounted upon said truckframe.

said box.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature o 7. A truck comprising a wheel-supported in presence of two witnesses. truck-frame consisting of side bars mounted BOSE B. BOWVERS. on central supp orting-wheels and having their arms upwardly and l/Vitnesses:

L. D. MOORE,

convergingly inclined at OLIVER ORR.

opposite sides of said central wheels, end supporting-Wheels attached at opposite ends of 

